You know when you get into a band before anyone else, read a book before it’s a bestseller or watch a TV show before everyone else catches on in its third season? You never lose that connection to it, as if you were somehow a part of its success. Well, it’s your lucky day because we know five web series that are on the brink of big-time, but are enough under-the-radar that you can feel in-the-know. These are not your typical one-off gags, online pranks or random clips. These series play like, and may one day be, sitcoms. Watching them now guarantees you can later claim you “totally know it was gonna be huge.” So plug those earphones in, sit back and blow off work today. Try not to laugh too loud, though; your co-workers will be disappointed when they stroll over to find you aren’t watching a funny kitten video.
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‘Broad City’
It’s easiest to describe “Broad City” as “Curb Your Enthusiasm” crossed with “Sex and the City”. Creators and stars Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer explore their 20s–-career, interpersonal skills, friendship, identity–in a stoner chick way, but also in a real way. Writers often exaggerate New York for comedy, but these ladies find the humor in reality. “Broad City” is now in development with FX for a TV version with Amy Poehler as executive producer.
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‘Made With Love’
Series creators Matt Ruby and Brooke Van Poppelen play Gideon Schwartz and Vanessa Schwartz, a married couple whose love for each other is as strong as a wet noodle and gets more and more slippery with each recipe they so enthusiastically Make With Love.
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‘I Hate Being Single’
“Get it on paper, tell your friends, get people together, film it, edit it and put it out there. Then you see the rewards,” says actor/comedian Rob Michael Hugel. He created “I Hate Being Single” from observational humor like Woody Allen and Seinfeld. The show follows Rob, who is a lonely twentysomething who was recently dumped and dreads single life in Brooklyn.
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‘Very Mary-Kate’
“Very Mary-Kate” is written by comedian Elaine Carroll and directed by Sam Reich. They’ve already produced upwards of 50 episodes at 90 seconds each. The series now resides on College Humor, and has built a strong following. Taking facts she already knew, such asMary-Kate Olsen’s use of a bodyguard and taking classes at NYU, Carroll crafted a web series that “started filling in the blanks” in a hilarious way. It’s the unofficial biography of Mary-Kate Olsen.
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‘It Gets Betterish’
Written by and starring Eliot Glazer and Brent Sullivan, “It Gets Betterish” takes the “It Gets Better” campaign, which tries to support young gay people, and puts an overdramatic, hilarious spin on it. Or as they put it, “It’s just a comedy about Eliot and Brent, two gay weirdos drowning in a sea of fierceness.”
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Freddi Scheib, Freddi Scheib Interview, Missed Connection Web Series | Serial Optimist
on Jan 17th, 2012
@ 6:07 pm:
[...] many great comedy series are hitting the web, as you can see here, and another hilariously amazing gem is “Missed Connection” from writer, comedian, and [...]